5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Off Oregon Coast

*URGENT INFORMATION* TSUNAMI WARNING OREGON COAST - Article below the following advisory!

An advisory has been posted for Oregon and Washington regarding the Tsunami after an 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake in Japan.

Inland Oregon:

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR603 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2011
ORZ005-WAZ022-111900-LOWER COLUMBIA-I-5 CORRIDOR IN COWLITZ COUNTY-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ST. HELENS...CLATSKANIE...LONGVIEW...KELSO...CASTLE ROCK603 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2011
HYDROLOGIC RIVER MODELS INDICATE THAT IF A TSUNAMI WAVE ENTERS THEMOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER THERE MAY BE A SMALL INCREASE IN WATERLEVEL AND WAVE ENERGY THAT COULD TRAVEL UP THE COLUMBIA RIVERLATER TODAY. THE INCREASE IN WAVE ENERGY MAY CAUSE SOMEDISRUPTIONS TO FLOATING HOMES AND/OR COMMERCIAL SHIPPING MOORED INHARBORS.
PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA SOURCEFOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONCoastal OregonSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR603 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2011
ORZ001-002-WAZ021-111900-NORTH OREGON COAST-CENTRAL OREGON COAST-SOUTH WASHINGTON COAST-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ASTORIA...CANNON BEACH...TILLAMOOK...LINCOLN CITY...NEWPORT...FLORENCE...RAYMOND...LONG BEACH...CATHLAMET603 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2011
...TSUNAMI WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE OREGON COAST...
...TSUNAMI ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WASHINGTON COAST...
A LARGE EARTHQUAKE WITH A MAGNITUDE OF 8.9 OCCURRED THURSDAY EVENINGIN EASTERN JAPAN.
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED IN JAPAN AND PARTS OF THE WESTERNPACIFIC WHICH MAY ALSO CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE OREGON COAST. PERSONS INLOW LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIRLOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS.
LISTED BELOW ARE SOME PROJECTED ARRIVAL TIMES FOR THE INITIAL WAVEFOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS:
CHARLESTON, OR 715 AM PSTSEASIDE, OR    724 AM PST
ESTIMATED WAVE AMPLITUDES ARE LISTED BELOW:
LONG BEACH, WA:            0.70 METER  (2.3 FEET)ASTORIA, OR:               0.24 METER  (0.8 FEET)CLATSOP SPIT, OR:          1.43 METER  (4.7 FEET)CANNON BEACH, OR:          1.18 METER  (3.9 FEET)OCEANSIDE, OR:             1.06 METER  (3.5 FEET)NESKOWIN, OR:              0.87 METER  (2.8 FEET)SILETZ BAY, OR:            2.30 METER  (7.5 FEET)NEWPORT, OR:               1.10 METER  (3.6 FEET)YACHATS,OR:                1.18 METER  (3.9 FEET)SIUSLAW RIVER-FLORENCE,OR: 0.99 METER  (3.2 FEET)
TSUNAMI WAVE AMPLITUDES ARE EXPECTED TO PEAK TWO TO THREE HOURSAFTER INITIAL ARRIVAL ALONG THE WEST COAST.
ONCE AGAIN A TSUNAMI WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE OREGON COAST.
A TSUNAMI ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WASHINGTON COAST.
A TSUNAMI WARNING MEANS THAT A TSUNAMI WITH A SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREADINUNDATION IS IMMINENT OR EXPECTED. WARNINGS INDICATE THATWIDESPREAD DANGEROUS COASTAL FLOODING ACCOMPANIED BY POWERFULCURRENT IS POSSIBLE AND MAY CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THEINITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.
TSUNAMI ADVISORIES MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONGCURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR THE WATER ISEXPECTED.  SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD INUNDATION IS NOT EXPECTED FORAREAS UNDER AN ADVISORY.  CURRENTS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO SWIMMERS...BOATS... AND COASTAL STRUCTURES AND MAY CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURSAFTER THE INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.

Portland, Oregon - There has been some earthquake activity off the coast of Oregon over the last few days, many of which have been above Magnitude 4.0.

Although there is currently no cause for concern to inland Cities in Oregon, scientists are keeping a close eye on the plates 427 km (265 miles) West North West of Coos Bay, Oregon. No damage has been reported and no accidents at sea have occurred due to large waves from the earthquakes.

There have been no reports of any ground shaking inland or at property on the coast, but this mini-swarm of quakes are showing slightly higher Magnitudes than other recent earthquakes off the coast of Oregon.

Recent seismic activity along the Pacific Fault Lines has been escalated since the earthquake in New Zealand, but it is not unusual for the Pacific faults to show increases in quakes after large earthquakes in the region.

There is no current danger to any inland locations and no Tsunami's have been reported, although there is the possibility of some oceanic swell occurring.

Monitoring is continuing but it said to be of no major concern - the plates off the coast of Oregon show signs of higher seismic activity quite often. This is the same as the plates off the coast of California, that have also seen some increase in small tremors recently.

Earthquake monitoring website www.earthquake.usgs.gov shows the following data for the latest M5.0 tremor:

Magnitude - 5.0

Date-Time - Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 01:26:59 UTC/ Monday, March 07, 2011 at 04:26:59 PM at epicenter

Location - 44.246°N, 129.391°W

Depth - 17.8 km (11.1 miles)

Region - OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

Distances - 427 km (265 miles) W of Newport, Oregon
427 km (265 miles) WNW of Coos Bay, Oregon
481 km (298 miles) WNW of Brookings, Oregon
510 km (316 miles) W of SALEM, Oregon

Location Uncertainty - horizontal +/- 20 km (12.4 miles); depth +/- 1.4 km (0.9 miles)

Parameters - NST=198, Nph=206, Dmin=456.4 km, Rmss=0.88 sec, Gp=173°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=A

Source - USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID - usb0001qly

The other earthquakes over M4.0 for today's date off the coast of Oregon that are been being tracked are:

4.6 2011/03/08 07:29:53 44.150 -129.470 10.3 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

4.4 2011/03/08 07:19:33 44.335 -129.250 10.3 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON 3

If you feel any shaking in Oregon you can report the event at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/